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Keep INVESTING Simple and Safe (KISS) ****Investment Philosophy, Strategy and various Valuation Methods**** The same forces that bring risk into investing in the stock market also make possible the large gains many investors enjoy. It’s true that the fluctuations in the market make for losses as well as gains but if you have a proven strategy and stick with it over the long term you will be a winner!****Warren Buffett: Rule No. 1 - Never lose money. Rule No. 2 - Never forget Rule No. 1.

Wednesday, 23 September 2009

How to analyse an annual report

Wednesday September 23, 2009

How to analyse an annual report

Personal Investing - By Ooi Kok Hwa

MANY of us receive a lot of annual reports every year.

Even though we are aware that there is a lot of important information in the reports, not many of us are willing to spend time going through those reports before buying stocks.

Besides, it is quite difficult for some investors, especially those who lack proper financial training, to analyse the financial information.

In this article, we will provide a quick guide on how to analyse an annual report.

Given that there are many ways to dissect an annual report, the following six pointers are just a quick check on the financial health of any listed companies.

Income statement is the financial statement that shows the effects of transactions completed over a specific accounting period.

In this statement, we have three key pointers: the current level of revenue; high growth in revenue; and the profits made in proportion to the level of revenue.

The current level of revenue indicates the size of a company. A company with revenue or sales of RM1bil is definitely bigger than one that has revenue of only RM100mil.

In Malaysia, companies with revenue of RM500mil and above should be considered as more established companies.

High growth in revenue implies that the company has been expanding over the past period.

Assuming the high growth in revenue will eventually translate into high growth in profits, we should invest in companies with higher growth in revenue because this may lead to higher stock prices.

If the overall economy is expanding, avoid those companies that are showing a decline in revenue.

This might imply that the overall operating activities of the companies are declining.

The profits made in proportion to the level of revenue indicates whether this company has high or low profit margins in its products. The profits here refer to the profit after tax or net income.

We should invest in high profit margin companies because high profit margins will provide a cushion to the sudden change in operating environment. A company with revenue of RM1bil and profits of RM10mil is more likely to face tougher challenges in a stiff price competition environment compared with a company with revenue of RM100mil and profits of RM10mil.

Balance sheet is the financial statement that shows a company’s assets, liabilities and owners’ equity at a point in time. The two main pointers in this statement are cash in hand and total borrowings.

Cash in hand refers to the cash or cash equivalent like fixed deposits. If possible, we should invest in companies with high cash in hand and zero borrowings. High cash in hand may imply that the company has high chances of rewarding shareholders with higher dividend payments.

Besides, companies with high cash in hand have more financial stability than companies with very tight level of cash. This explains why most investment gurus like to invest in cash-rich companies.

Total borrowings include the short- and long-term borrowings. Here, we should check whether the company has reported any sharp increase in borrowings during the financial periods. Most companies need to increase borrowings to support their capital expenditure on any business expansion.

However, if a company has been increasing its borrowings each year and the level has far exceeded one to two times the shareholders’ funds, unless its operating activities are able to support the repayments, the company faces very high financial risk.

Cash flow statement shows the sources and uses of cash over the period. One very important pointer in this statement is the operating cash flow.

High operating cash flow implies that the company is generating cash from its operating activities. A healthy company should show high operating cash flow because this number will indicate how much actual cash the company has generated from operations during the period.

We need to be careful of the companies that are showing profits but at the same time generating negative operating cash flows every year. This may imply that these companies have very high receivables. Any economic downturn may cause a sharp increase in provisions on bad debts.

Lastly, investors need to understand that the above six pointers are just a quick guide to analysing any annual report. Serious investors should not only analyse these six pointers. They are advised to scrutinise the reports further for more details.

Ooi Kok Hwa is an investment adviser and managing partner of MRR Consulting.

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/9/23/business/4762997&sec=business

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My 18 points guide to Successfully compounding your money in Stocks

Be a good stock picker.
Think as a business owner.
Always look at value rather than the price. Do the homework.
Buy and hold is alright for selected stocks.
Compounding is your friend, get this to work its magic.
Mr. Market is there to be taken advantage of. Do not be the sucker instead. BFS;STS.
Always buy a lot when the price is low.
Never buy when the stock is overpriced.
It is alright to buy when the selected stock is at a fair price.
Phasing in or dollar cost averaging is safe for such stocks during a downtrend, unless the price is still obviously too high.
Do not time the market for such or any stocks.
By keeping to the above strategy, the returns will be delivered through the growth of the company's business.
So, when do you sell the stock? Almost never, as long as the fundamentals remain sound and the future prospects intact.
The downside risk is protected through only buying when the price is low or fairly priced.
Tactical dynamic asset allocation or rebalancing based on valuation can be employed but this sounds easier than is practical, except in extreme market situations.
Sell urgently when the company business fundamental has deteriorated irreversibly.
You may also wish to sell should the growth of the company has obviously slowed and you can reinvest into another company with greater growth potential of similar quality. However, unlike point 16, you can do so leisurely.
In conclusion, a critical key to successful investing is in your stock picking ability.

http://myinvestingnotes.blogspot.com/2012/07/my-18-points-guide-to-successfully.html

11 Lessons From Peter Lynch

Peter Lynch taught me:

1. Behind every stock is a company. Find out what it’s doing.
2. Never invest in any idea you can’t illustrate with a crayon.
3. Over the short term, there may be no correlation between the success of a company’s operations and the success of its stock. Over the long term, there’s a 100% correlation.
4. Buying stocks without studying the companies is the same as playing poker – and never looking at your cards.
5. Time is on your side when you own shares of superior companies.
6. Owning stock is like having children. Don’t get involved with more than you can handle.
7. When the insiders are buying, it’s a good sign.
8. Unless you’re a short seller, it never pays to be pessimistic.
9. A stock market decline is as predictable as a January blizzard in Colorado. If you’re prepared, it can’t hurt you.
10. Everyone has the brainpower to make money in stocks. Not everyone has the stomach.
11. Nobody can predict interest rates, the future direction of the economy, or the stock market. Dismiss all such forecasts and concentrate on what’s actually happening to the companies in which you’ve invested.

Lynch’s advice had a profound effect on my stock market approach. He taught me that investment success isn’t the result of developing the right macro-economic view or deciding when to jump in or out of the market. Success is about researching companies to identify those that are likely to report positive surprises.

Capital Expenditure

A great company with a Durable Competitive Advantage will have a ratio of Capital Expenditures to Net Income of less than 25%. Less is better.

Capital Expenditures are expenses on:
- fixed assets such as equipment, property, or industrial buildings
- fixing problems with an asset
- preparing an asset to be used in business
- restoring property
- starting new businesses

A good company will have a ratio of Capital Expenditures to Net Income of less than 50%.

A great company with a Durable Competitive Advantage will have a ratio of less than 25%.

Less is better.

Benjamin Graham's 113 Wise Words

The true investor scarcely ever is forced to sell his shares, and at all times he is free to disregard the current price quotation. He need pay attention to it and act upon it only to the extent that it suits his book, and no more. Thus the investor who permits himself to be stampeded or unduly worried by unjustified market declines in his holdings is perversely transforming his basic advantage into a basic disadvantage. That man would be better off if his stocks had no market quotation at all, for he would then be spared the mental anguish caused him by other persons' mistakes of judgement."

Philip Fisher's Wise Words

"The refusal to sell at a loss, while completely natural and normal, is probably one of the most dangerous in which we can indulge ourselves in the entire investment process.

More money has probably been lost by investors holding a stock they really did not want until they could 'at least come out even' than from any other single reason. If to these actual losses are added the profits that might have been made through the proper reinvestment of these funds if such reinvestment had been made when the mistake was first realized, the cost of self-indulgence becomes truly tremendous."

(Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits)

The Ultimate Hold-versus-Sell Test

Here is the overriding primary test, followed by observations on why it is so critically important:

Knowing all that you now know and expect about the company and its stock (not what you originally believed or hoped at time of purchase), and assuming that you had available capital, and assuming that it would not cause a portfolio imbalance to do so, would you buy this stock today, at today's price?

No equivocation. Yes or no?

Answers such as maybe or probably are not acceptable since they are ways of dodging the issue. No investor probably buys a stock; they either place an order or do not.

Here is the implication of your answer to that critical test: if you did not answer with a clear affirmative, you should sell; only if you said a strong yes, are you justified to hold.

Some thoughts on Analysing Stocks (KISS)

Ideally a stock you plan to purchase should have all of the following charateristics:

• A rising trend of earnings dividends and book value per share.
• A balance sheet with less debt than other companies in its particular industry.
• A P/E ratio no higher than average.
• A dividend yield that suits your particular needs.
• A below-average dividend pay-out ratio.
• A history of earnings and dividends not pockmarked by erratic ups and downs.
• Companies whose ROE is 15 or better.
• A ratio of price to cash flow (P/CF) that is not too high when compared to other stocks in the same industry.

Margin of Safety Concept: Stocks should be bought like groceries, not like perfume

The high CAGR in the early years of the investing period, due to buying at a discount, tended to decline and approach that of the intrinsic EPS GR of the companies over a longer investment time-frame.

Chapter 20 - “Margin of Safety” as the Central Concept of Investment

A single quote by Graham on page 516 struck me:

Observation over many years has taught us that the chief losses to investors come from the purchase of low-quality securities at times of favorable business conditions.

Basically, Graham is saying that most stock investors lose money because they invest in companies that seem good at a particular point in time, but are lacking the fundamentals of a long-lasting stable company.

This seems obvious on the surface, but it’s actually a great argument for thinking more carefully about your individual stock investments. If most of your losses come from buying companies that seem healthy but really aren’t, isn’t that a profound argument for carefully studying any company you might invest in?

myinvestingnotes.blogspot.my (Bullbear Buffett Stock Investing Notes)

Wednesday, 23 September 2009

How to analyse an annual report

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All equity security investments present a risk of loss of capital

The Ultimate Hold-versus-Sell Test

Some thoughts on Analysing Stocks (KISS)

Benjamin Graham

Sell the losers, let the winners run.

Investment Style

Warren Buffett

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